PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention refers to a heater/evaporator for liquids, of the type normally used
to supply air fresheners and insecticides and which include an electrical element
to heat the product concerned, contained in a recipient, to facilitate its evaporation.
[0002] The object of the invention is to provide an adjustable heater/evaporator specifically
designed to provide two different temperatures according to the nature of the product
to be dispensed.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
[0003] The wide range of systems for supplying an air freshener or insecticide to the atmosphere
includes a known system that consists of the use of a bottle containing the product
concerned, with a wick. The bottle is fitted in a detachable manner into the casing
of the device in a position in which the wick is close to a heating element or elements
such that the increased heat considerably aids the wick to evaporate the air freshener
as it is absorbed by the wick from the bottom of the bottle.
[0004] The heating capacity of this element or set of elements is fixed, that is, pre-set,
so that for the optimal functioning of the heater/evaporator, two types of apparatus
need to be made, one for air fresheners and the other for insecticides, since the
latter require a higher temperature, of up to 110° C, compared to temperatures of
under 80° C needed for air fresheners.
[0005] This temperature difference is related to the types of solvents and alcohols used
in their manufacture and means that a device that works correctly with air fresheners
is not the most suitable for insecticides, and
vice versa.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The heater/evaporator which the invention proposes solves the problem described above
in a fully satisfactory way so that it is equally suitable for either of the aforementioned
products, since it is capable of providing both working temperatures, either at the
user's choice or automatically, as described below.
[0007] For this, and more specifically, the device disclosed is based on the use of at least
two heating elements located next to the opening through which the wick passes as
it emerges from the bottle. Its features centre on the use of a diode at the input
to the power supply circuit to these elements which can be short-circuited so that
the elements can supply enough heat for the device's working temperature to reach
the maximum, for example, close to 110° C for insecticides when the diode is short-circuited
and not operating, while when the diode is operating it causes a voltage drop in the
power supply that lowers the effective power of the elements to the other pre-set
level, that close to the 80 °C required by air fresheners.
[0008] As stated, this adjustment to the effective power of the heating elements can be
made manually and on purpose by means of the relevant micro switch, directly or indirectly
accessible, or automatically in such a way that using two different types of bottles
for the products, one of which has a protuberance which the other lacks, the micro
switch is activated or not when the bottle is inserted, thus short-circuiting the
voltage reduction diode or not.
[0009] This basic structure makes it feasible for the device to use two, three or four heating
elements and the diode that adjusts the working voltage of those elements may in turn
be materialised as another element which carries out the same function as the diode,
with the advantage that it can control the temperature of the other elements.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0010] To complement this description and to help with the better understanding of the features
of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical embodiment thereof,
this description is accompanied, as an integral part of it, by a set of drawings that
illustrate but do not restrict it, showing:
Figure 1 shows a plan view of the printed circuit board for a heater/evaporator made
according to the object of this invention on which the heating elements are installed
together with the opening through which the bottle supplying the product passes.
Figure 2 shows a side elevation view of the two types of bottle designed for the automatic
adjustment of the voltage in the device according to the type of product to be supplied
to the atmosphere.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In the example of practical embodiment chosen and as shown in Figure 1, four heating
elements (1) are used, arranged at equal angles on the printed circuit board (2) which
supports them, surrounding the opening (3) in the board (2) through which the wick
(4) passes that extracts the product concerned from its bottle (5) fitted in the casing
of the heater/evaporator, but clearly the number of elements (3) may vary, as stated
previously, using only three or two elements and the number of elements may even vary
positively, that is, using more than four.
[0012] According to the invention, the power supply circuit for the elements (1) includes
a diode (6) short-circuited with a by-pass (7), fitted with a micro-switch (8) so
that when the micro-switch (8) is closed, the device's power supply voltage, supplied
through the classic master switch (9), passes through this by-pass (7) and the diode
(6) remains inoperative, while when the micro-switch (8) is open, the diode (6) becomes
operative in the elements' (1) power supply circuit, causing a voltage drop in the
power supply to them that results in a loss of power in them and, therefore, the reduced
heating of the wick (4).
[0013] The micro-switch (8) may be operated manually but will preferably be automatic, specifically
through the use of the two types of bottle (5-5') shown in Figure 2, so that the bottle
(5) does not operate the micro-switch (8) when inserted into the device, it containing,
for example, air freshener, while the bottles (5') intended for containing insecticides
include a protuberance (10) which operates the micro-switch (8) when the bottle is
inserted, changing the state in the elements' (1) power supply circuit.
[0014] It only remains to be noted that, as stated above, the diode (6) could be replaced
with another element that can generate a regulated voltage drop.
1. Adjustable heater/evaporator for liquids of the type that includes a set of heating
elements that can raise the temperature of an air freshener or insecticide product,
contained in a bottle with a wick through which the product evaporates, in which there
are means to supply two levels of heat to these heating elements depending on whether
the heater/evaporator is used for air fresheners or insecticides, to adjust the working
temperature to the different requirements of these two types of products.
2. Adjustable heater/evaporator for liquids, according to claim 1, characterised in that these means of varying the heating power of the elements consists of a diode in the
power supply circuit to these elements, equipped with a by-pass containing a micro-switch
so that when the micro-switch is open the diode is operative while when the micro-switch
is closed it is inoperative, causing a voltage drop or otherwise in the power supply
to the elements.
3. Adjustable heater/evaporator for liquids, according to the preceding claims, characterised in that this diode may optionally be replaced with a complementary element that can also
be short-circuited by the micro-switch.
4. Adjustable heater/evaporator for liquids, according to the preceding claims, characterised in that two types of bottles are used in it, one for air fresheners and the other for insecticides,
one type of bottle having a protuberance which, when the bottle is inserted, operates
the micro-switch to short-circuit the diode so that it is the bottle itself that determines
the heating power supplied by the device when the bottle is inserted into it.